


Grey Gifts

by jamcake_muses



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Tolkien Secret Santa 2020, Years of the Trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28077909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamcake_muses/pseuds/jamcake_muses
Summary: Fëanáro has a big furry problem.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14
Collections: Tolkien Secret Santa 2020





	Grey Gifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [senalishia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/senalishia/gifts).



> Tolkien Secret Santa 2020 gift for [ @senalishia ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/senalishia)
> 
> Thanks [ @SkyEventide ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyEventide) for beta.

‘Amil! Atto! Look what I got!’

Fëanáro and Nerdanel looked to the doorway to see their youngest bounding into the study as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. He skidded to a halt before them.

‘Look what I got!’ he panted, bouncing with excitement.

He held out a huge ball of grey fur with two bright blue orbs, and two floppy ears. The grey fur ball gave out a little yip and its pink tongue lolled out of its mouth, sharp teeth and all.

Fëanáro fought the urge to separate his child from this… this beast! He recalled the last time his youngest had decided to bring home a furry friend. Turko had found a bear cub who had wandered into their estate and had decided that he would make an excellent caregiver. He brought it home. Fëanáro was not entirely sure of the sequence of events, but it had ended with all three of his children atop a tall tree fending off a rightfully angry mother bear, screaming at the top of their lungs. Of course, the groundskeepers had managed to distract the mother long enough to get his children to safety and had returned the bear cub to its mother, but thinking about that incident still made him uneasy.

‘Turko, where did you find this beast?’ Fëanáro finally asked, eyeing it with caution.

‘He is not a beast, Atto.’ Turko replied, exasperated. He cradled the beast in his arms and nuzzled its head. ‘He is a puppy.’ 

A puppy! He was almost as big as Turko. Oh, he certainly did not want to meet a grown creature of its kind, much less a very angry one who thought its child was in danger.

‘I found him near the grove. He was scared, alone, and hurt too.’ Turko continued, bringing its bandaged hind paw into view. ‘I helped him! Well, Cestallë bandaged him but I was there with him, like when Atto held me when Cestallë set my bones last year. Then, we went out to the grounds to look for his parents.’

Apparently, some parts of the two hour lecture after the bear incident had stuck with him, although not the parts he had hoped.

‘We looked all morning and there was nothing near the grove, or the gardens, or near the lake. Then, Oromë came on his horse! Can you believe it? His horse is so big!’

‘What?’ Fëanáro exclaimed. He certainly was not expecting the story to take this turn.

‘Yes! And he said that I did a really good job taking care of him, and the puppy was very happy to be with me. He said I could keep him, if you did not object. Can he stay, please?’

Fëanáro stared, trying to process what his son had just told him. A Vala lost one of his hounds and then decided to give said hound to his son, who was barely bigger than the puppy. Did the Valar know anything about small children? Could he even refuse a gift from a Vala? He had seen Oromë’s hounds and they grew to be as large as small horse, cunningly smart and vicious. Nothing good could come of this.

He cast his eyes to Nerdanel. She was watching Turko and the beast with a gentle smile on her lips. She turned to him. Her eyes met his and he knew she was already soft for the beast. So no help from her then.

‘You cannot keep him, Turko.’ Fëanáro said, bracing himself for the onslaught of pleas and whining.

‘He is only a baby, Atto! And he is so soft and very nice. Please, please please.’ he whined, peering between the beast’s pointy ears with his wide silvery eyes.

‘Turko,’ Fëanáro tried again. ‘It is not all play taking care of a puppy, especially one so big. They also need…’ Fëanáro was not sure what they needed. He had never had a pet, much less a holy hound. All his hunting hounds and horses were cared for by the palace servants. ‘..care.’ he finished.

He heard Nerdanel snort softly just as confusion slowly crept onto Turko’s face.

‘What your father means is that puppies need more than just attention. They need to be fed, cleaned, and trained.’

‘Yes, yes,’ Turko piped up. ‘I can do it! I can feed him, teach him, even tell him stories and sing him to sleep. I will even share my baths with him. Please, let him stay.’

‘This is a good opportunity for Tyelko to learn about caring for animals.’ Nerdanel said, kneeling next to Turko and petting the beast. She turned to Fëanáro, with a look on her face which he could never refuse. The traitor!

The beast as if on cue gave a bark and looked at Fëanáro with its shining eyes and its cute pink tongue hanging out. Fëanáro would not be fooled that easily but relented to the pleading eyes of his son and wife. The estate was big enough that the beast, well, puppy would not get underfoot and there were plenty of people to help Turko, if he did need it.

‘All right, he can stay.’

‘Yes! This is going to be so great!’ He ran up to Fëanáro for a hug. The beast yipped at the excitement and licked Fëanáro. ‘Thank you thank you thank you!’

Before he could say anything, Turko was speaking to his new friend in a perfect imitation of Fëanáro and Nerdanel’s comforting tone

‘I am going to show you my room and you can sleep in my bed. It is so soft, like you. You will like it. Then tomorrow, we shall go…’

Wait, what. He thought the beast would be housed outside with all the other hunting hounds. Perhaps a nice separate kennel. He opened his mouth to stop his son but Turko had already left the room with his new friend in tow. 

‘We will need to get Tyelko a bigger bed.’ Nerdanel said, sparing him one small amused glance before following their son out of the study.

He sighed. That would be a conversation for another day.


End file.
